Being in love with inanimate objects

You've probably read somewhere about people who buy life size human dolls and have ongoing relationships with them. Probably.

There are some people who pay thousands for these life-size human replicas and claim to have a strong emotional bond with them, and cease to date human partners (depending on whether they ever did) in favour of inanimate human dolls. This may be due to a number of psychological factors, but I wouldn't doubt that loneliness (romantic or otherwise) would be a strong motivator in most cases.

I've been thinking about this, and one thing I find fascinating is whether or not this kind of "relationship" is necessarily unhealthy. Think about it. In this day and age we don't consider our biological needs as our primary moral compass whatsoever. We don't frown on homosexuality, we choose partners based on a huge variety of factors that don't relate to fertility, we involve ourselves in purely sexual encounters but with the use of birth-control and so forth. So how do we consider monosexuality? or a synthesised relationship (if you will)?

There is no chance of reproduction, which is obvious, but we don't consider that a huge issue nowadays anyway. The relationship itself features no specific "immorality" that I can think of. The issue could possibly be that the human half of the relationship isn't contributing to a healthy relationship, and is possible increasing some psychological issues they have with social interaction. But comparatively, what they are participating in is almost like a relationship where their own affections are simply mirrored back to them. Like when you play table tennis with one side up to practice. So if they are giving as much to the relationship as they are receiving (or receiving through fantasy) are they not stimulating the natural functions of a relationship that would be neglected if they were alone?

is a "relationship" with an inanimate object an expression of "self-love" that is some part as healthy as a true relationship?

I was thinking about this in relation to in the future when human emulating robots, and this issue will become more widespread. In Japan at first. And people will choose to engage in "relationships" solely with human replicas that can emulate but not truly possess emotion. So if an android can emulate the reactions and actions of human on a high functioning level, and the human partner give love and receive a satisfactory emulation of love, can we not say in this post-morals post-everything world that this is as valid as a "true" relationship?

I'm gonna make a kick ass sci-fi about this someday.

  On 11/13/2010 at 9:00 AM, Backson said:

I'm gonna make a kick ass sci-fi about this someday.

no yer not, there is already a movie about that that i think was made in the 90's . and there is also this movie

a documentary too

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7277801797935788405#

haha and that dude is on twitter.

http://twitter.com/davecat

i used to follow him just to see what he had to say, i don't care for athiest tweets so i deleted him.

  On 11/13/2010 at 9:00 AM, Backson said:

 

I'm gonna make a kick ass sci-fi about this someday.

first this, then a watmm thread please

  On 11/13/2010 at 9:44 AM, Glunk said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE3pGYjz8Ws

facinating, but I'm more interested in the idea of a human replica being treated as though it is a partner rather than fetishising about the fact the object is an object.

I wouldn't want to go on a double date with a friend who had an inanimate object as his partner. Thats all I can say.

I'm in love with this: (It is in Australia and I am not - I miss it)

I actually dont think you need to draw parallel between falling in love with a humanoid robot and a fence or a table. I think that in a funny way, falling in love with a robot is far more understandable and less 'strange'. The kind of robots that people end up having relationships with will be regarded as simulations of humans but a fence is just a fence. I think falling in love with a robot/simulated being/whatever we end up calling them will end up being in a completely different category.

feeling sorry for inanimate objects

Jackie Treehorn treats objects like women, man.

  On 11/13/2010 at 3:11 PM, Rambo said:

I actually dont think you need to draw parallel between falling in love with a humanoid robot and a fence or a table. I think that in a funny way, falling in love with a robot is far more understandable and less 'strange'. The kind of robots that people end up having relationships with will be regarded as simulations of humans but a fence is just a fence. I think falling in love with a robot/simulated being/whatever we end up calling them will end up being in a completely different category.

yes, this is true. in fact, this thread was just meant to be about loving false humans who cannot truly posses emotion.

I simply titled it badly.

I think this is going to become a huge issue in the future with the introduction of commercially available robots. Like you said, its less "strange".

always wanted to date a white picket fence

  On 11/13/2010 at 10:12 PM, marf said:

always wanted to date a white picket fence

I like the idea of falling in love with something that could potentially injure you as you try to scale it, like a barbed wire fence or Roseanne Barr.

i know this black guy, he only dates white picket fences

  On 11/13/2010 at 12:01 PM, verticalhold said:

I'm in love with this: (It is in Australia and I am not - I miss it)

she's soo cute!

I AM IN LOVE WITH MY OCTAVE PLATEU KITTEN AND MY QY700

  On 11/13/2010 at 4:07 PM, asymmetrical head said:

 

feeling sorry for inanimate objects

came here to post this

asymmetrical ripoff

it's certainly weird but i wouldn't peg it as inherently wrong. hell, i'd recommend it for some people. abusive assholes, mainly. anyone who is so inherently unlikeable that they consider "mail order brides" or whatever. sex dolls don't have feelings and those assholes can do their own damn dishes.

I still love my teddies. Have held no desire to spuntah all over them though.